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-mTe Canadien Champion, Fniday, June 26,1998 *OPINION Box'24X 191Main SiF, MilonOnt.L9t- 4N9 (905) 878-2341 Fax: 878-4943 Classified: 875-3300 Ian Oliver Publisher Neil Oliver Associite Peblisher David Bos Rob Kelly Karen Cross Teri Casas Tina Coles General Manager Edtor Circulationî Manager Qffice Manager Priiduc tieîn Manager The Canadian Champion, publistnad every Tesday and Satsrday ai 19 Mi lEI LMIi n U l 1_9f IN9J KBî8m ýid e 'ý,M. 0il d Pr 'I1JIr Pablishing & Distributing Ltd. group of suburban sompanies whcii includas. Ajax / Pickering News Advertiser, Allistan HeraldlCourier, Barrie Advance; Brampton Geardian; Burlinigtan Post; City Parent; Collingwood I Wasaga Cennectian; Est York Mimeor; Etobiceke Geardian; Georgetown Independenti Acton Free Pres; Kingston This Week; Lndsay Ths Week, Marktiam tcononmist & Sun; Midierd I Penetanguishene Mrrar, Mssissauga News; Newmarket / Aurons tra Banner; Norttumberland News; North York Mreor; Oakville Beaven; Orllia Tnday; Oshawa I Whtby / Claringtan IPart Penny This Week; Peterbor- ough This Week, Richmond HiI Tharnhili Vaughan Lbenal, Scerbanougtn Mirror, Uabridge I Stauttvitie Tribune, Tadays Seniors. Advertising je accepted an the canditione tiat, in the event et a typngraphical errer. that partien et the edvertising space nccupied by the erranenes item, tegether with a reasenabte allemance fnr signature, wiii net be cherged tan, bat the balance et the advertisemnent witl be paid tan t the applicable rate. The pub- lichen eseves the right ta ctegerize adveeisemrents an dectine. Age 65 like booby prize There are some cultures in which senior citi- zens are treated like royalty. Ours isn't one of them. Hiting 65 is like winning the booby prize at the town fair. Instead of getting the key 10 the city, most people enter their golden years with a key to invisibility. They may have devoted their lives to keeping the economy going and trying to raise decent children. Maybe they nursed their kidu through headaches and heartaches and probably suffered in silence about their own. StilI, in the westemn world aging is not always about reaping what you sow. t' s not always about just rewards. t cari be about shrinking worlds. Children are told they cari be or do anything they want to. Horizons are wide. Potential is limiùtless. You know the drill. In the prime of life, days are busy. A typical adult bas a job, a mortgage, a few kidu. There aren't enougb bours to care for themselves prop- erly, so it may be a mistake to think they sbould be car- ing f'or the people who once used to case for tbem, too. "Tids is th StilI, if they don't, who akndi will? Intentions are good. The seniors -- to Town of Milton bas a place md find à or two for the mout needy .......... seniors. Long-term care is provided here, once you cari get past the waiing lit. Day programu are in place for seniors who cari still line dance, play bingo and mail walk. t The in-betweeners are a uitile harder 10 accom- modate. They're the seniors wbo aren't yet eligi- hIe for serious long-termn care, but who can't always remember to eat or don't always find the will to want to. Some programu are in place - Meals on Wbeels and grocery delivery services. These are good programu, with bugs in them. The bug is human nature. These days, everybody is always talking about stress. High chool stridents are stressed about examu ansd higber education. Parents are stressed about everytbing under the suri. Old people aren't supposed to be stressed. point They're supposed to be gallivanting off in RVs or at the very least pottering around the garden in watt of those few preciaus moments when their grandchildren visit. It's a nice picture. and true for some. but for too many others, the colours aren't so bnight. Stress doesn't evaporate like unlined skin when you reach a certain age. Ill health complicates matters furiher. A man who may have once been in charge of a compa- ny is now told he can't drive a car. Busses cari be hard to get in and out of for bodies held together with hip or e month to knee replacements. There write about is a great taxi service run by the Town but it hangs (soul-search up a closed sign at 6 p.m. answers"1 A town can only do so ........ ? ....... muchfo its residents and - GEMI'm sure Milton does what OMILE it cari. Stili, there are more than 7,000 seniors in Milton today. About 550 of them are members of the Milton Seniors' Activity Centre on Ontario Street, where programs to keep a mmnd and body occu- pied are offered daily. Some of the reut will be happy and healthy, maybe always surrounded by family who love them. For others, growing old is about a steady shninking of opportunities and lengthening of hours. Some readers may know that June is Seniors' Month. This is the month to talk and write about seniors - to soul-search and find answers. 1 don't have any answers - just that same, 1tired observation. Some culture's treat their elderly like royalty. Tis just isn't one of them. King and qusen at the annuel Halton Centennial Manor Halloween party in November, 1970 were Margaret Gow and William Cripps. They're shown here with Ethel Hay and Jessie Levitt. The costumes were made by the residents themselves. My daughter's in a clique They caîl themselves the 'clique' -- our daugh- ter and ber four girîfriendu. I bave neyer experi- enced anything quite like this. Our eldeut was a loner in bigh uchool and he did not move in a circle of friendu. I remember my igb uchool days, too. There were four of us -- al shy, mousey girls -- who got together at lunch. We came by bus from various directions around Bancroft, so0 our only time for socializing came when we sat in a clasu room and ste our sandwiches. When I left tbat school midway througb grade Il, that was the lest 1 ever saw of those girls. It's different for our daughter and ber friende. They seem dloser to one another and more in sync. They display a vitality I can't recaîl in our group. They're so entbusiastic, so full of life. They embrace new adventures wholeheartedly. They'll neyer forges their echool art trip to New York City and they shriek in gîce every lime they sece on TV those streels where lhey walked. They are singers, dancers and actors, which often makes them bigger than life. 'It's "dahling" this and -dahling" that. Their lack of inhibitions astounde me. Tbey'll break into song-and-dance routines wherever and whenev- er. They like nothing better than to create imagi- nary characlers and scenarios. They live in each other's clothes. If one of our daughter' s skirts cannot be found on the loor in ber room, I cari only assume that it is lying on the floor of one of the other girl's bedrooms. I see a lot of these girls. Three of tbem live out On the Ho mefron t of town, s0 frequently, when they have activities going on after echool hours, they walk to our bouse and congregate in front of the TV and exclaim over the antics of Buffy the Vampire Killer. Tbey will revisit any of the shows thal our daughter bas taped. Dawson's Creek comes a close second. They might also watch and sing their way through their umpteenth viewing ol' Dirty Dancing or West Side Story. They react verbally to what is said and donc on the umaîl screen, as if they were involved in a real-life situation. Now that's scary. I îhoughl il was only the guys who got drawn into TV with their spectator sports. Their main topic of conversation seems to bc other teenagers. I am aghast at how superficial they are and how quick they are 10 judge othcrs. If a teen outside of their clique ba.s a hairstylc they disagree witb. it's eitber 'scary" or "grosa" and they discount any other redeeming qualities that individual might have. I criticize them for their superficiality. but I wonder really wbether as aduîts we are any better. Don't we judge/mis- judge people by their appearance? We' re proba- bly just lese blatant than these kids are. The girls crowd around tbe lateut uchool year- book, drooling over the boys, commenting on the girls -- their looks and personalities -- and complaining or raving about their teachers -- past, present and future. The pages are soon dog- eared. Tbey have a token boy in their midst. He lives in our neighbourbood and shows up from lime to time to irritate tbem, boss them around and sulk when he doesn'l gel bis way. They are hop- ing that one day he'll grow up and become their equals -- sophisticated as îhey are. Looking Back.. r